Pink Ferrets and Unexpected Love
by MOOKA
Summary: When Prof. Moody turns Malfoy into a ferret, um...stuff happens.
1. Introductory Chapter

Chapter 1: Introduction.  
  
Note: *Some of what you read may be similar to this chapter in the book. The plot and storyline do not change a whole lot, but you get twists here and there just to see what would happen if the story had gone a different way. The text below has braces which are {} those things around it because it is not my work. I give full credit to J.K. Rowling, because otherwise I'd be arrested for plagiarism, and I wouldn't be able to read all of your  
fabulous reviews!*  
  
{"Get stuffed, Malfoy," said Harry. "C'mon, Ron.."  
  
"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter?" sneered Malfoy. "So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"  
  
"You know your mother, Malfoy?" said Harry-both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron's robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy-"that expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"  
  
"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."  
  
"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," said Harry, turning away.  
  
BANG! Harry felt something white-hot graze the side of his face-he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, but before he'd even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG.  
  
"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!" Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing. The ferret gave a terrified squeak, and took off, streaking toward the dungeons.  
  
"I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again-it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more.  
  
"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do.."  
  
The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly. "Never-do-that-again-" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books.  
  
"What-what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret's progress through the air.  
  
"Teaching," said Moody.  
  
"Teach-Moody, is that a student?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms.  
  
"Yep," said Moody.}  
  
(All right, let's roll original works from MOOKA Beep. aaand, action!)  
  
"Oh," said Professor McGonagall.  
  
She waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms.  
  
"I thought you were torturing an animal from the Care of Magical Creatures Menagerie. Who is it?"  
  
"Uh, that would be Draco Malfoy, the scum," said Moody, scratching his chin. "He took out his wand and tried to curse Potter here while his back was turned. I thought I'd let him know how I feel about cowards,"  
  
He pointed his wand at the ceiling, and Malfoy the Amazing Bouncing Ferret, who had been lying in a heap on the stone floor, zoomed up once more and smacked the ceiling. 


	2. In Which Two Surprisingly Ironic Adjecti...

Chapter 2: In which two unexpected adjectives are used to describe Malfoy.  
  
Malfoy the Panic-Stricken, Battered White Ferret hung suspended in the air for a moment and then slowly began to fall, for Professor Moody had removed his wand. Professor Moody went into dinner.  
  
Hermione ran to the spot where the evil white ferret would surely fall, and she caught him before he hit the ground.  
  
Malfoy the Exhausted, Injured, Pissed Off Ferret seemed to have fainted. The crowd of Slytherins and Gryffindors dispersed into the Great Hall for dinner leaving Ron, Harry, Hermione, and the Rude Rodent standing outside the doors.  
  
Ron looked confusedly at Hermione.  
  
" You know, he, erm may come in handy soon?" said Hermione uneasily.  
  
Hermione ate quickly as usual, but two things she did were different: she slipped food into her book bag (probably for the fearsome ferret), and she rushed in the direction of Gryffindor House instead of her usual haunt, the library.  
  
Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table. Crabbe and Goyle were looking confusedly from side to side; unsure of where Malfoy had gone. Ron looked in the direction Harry was staring. They looked at each other, doubled up with laughter, and nearly choked on their mouthfuls of beef casserole.  
  
Hermione was sitting in front of the common room fire, massaging her stomach. She needed to rethink this whole 'eat-super fast-in-order-to-get- things-done-during-every-available-time-slot' thing. This wasn't the first time she had gotten a stomachache from eating too fast, either.  
  
The bag at her feet suddenly began pulsing and moving quietly. Hermione put the bag on her lap and looked inside. Malfoy the Humiliated Ferret was awake within. He was shaking his furry white head and looking at his surroundings, which were very dull: Hermione's many books, a bottle of ink, pieces of parchment and a few quills.  
  
He turned his pointed face to Hermione, a look of angry puzzlement on his face. His eyes were practically saying, "Why am I in this mudblood common room in a mudblood's book bag, no less".  
  
"You are here because Professor Moody likes you better as a ferret. For one thing, ferrets do not make noises, that we know of, anyway," said Hermione in a shaky yet sharp voice.  
  
Malfoy seemed to have overlooked the fact that he was still a ferret. He now looked down at his furry white paws and his furry white tail. He felt his furry white face and his furry white belly with his furry white paws. Malfoy emitted a furry white squeak.**  
  
**(Let me know in your reviews if ferrets make noises. I'm allergic to them, and I am clueless.)  
  
The squeak sounded small, and was more a squeak of helplessness than a squeak of "oh no everything about my appearance is furry and white".  
  
Hermione looked at him with longing. He did make an adorable ferret. But she mustn't keep him. He definitely wouldn't get along with Crookshanks.  
  
She sat in the common room for a long while after, trying to calm Malfoy the Psycho Ferret. She finally decided to just make him fall asleep.  
  
"Fatigueosa," said Hermione, pointing her wand at him. He fell out of the bag and curled up into a furry white ball in Hermione's lap to fall asleep. 


	3. In Which Harry and Ron Ponder Things and...

Chapter 3: In which Harry and Ron ponder (I love that word!) things.  
  
Harry and Ron had just pronounced themselves full after each finished their thirteenth goblet of pumpkin juice, seventh large helping of beef casserole, and third large helping of lemon cobbler.  
  
They had begun to stumble up the marble steps to Gryffindor Tower when Ron grabbed the back of Harry's cloak.  
  
"Harry, it's Krum! Wonder what he's up to." said Ron curiously. "Let's follow him. I think he's going to the library and-oh! Maybe I can finally get his autograph!"  
  
So Ron and Harry casually walked to the library, keeping a good distance away from Viktor Krum. Krum slouched into the library. Harry and Ron waited for a split second, and then Ron rushed to go in.  
  
He collided with someone halfway through the doorway, however. Viktor Krum was bustling out of the library at the same moment that Ron was entering. Ron's cloak ripped at the sleeve, and Krum landed spread-eagled on the floor.  
  
"Oh-Mr., uh, Krum, so sorry.I didn't mean to do that, I mean to say-" the color rose in Ron's cheeks.  
  
Krum grunted and stood up before hurrying in the other direction.  
  
"I wonder where he's off to now," Harry pondered aloud.  
  
"Oh well, he didn't seem very nice," said Ron. "I don't care where he's going, let's just go to the Tower and find Hermione."  
  
And off they went. When they reached the portrait hole, the Fat Lady was sneezing violently into a hankerchief.  
  
"Er-beg pardon, but are you okay?" said Ron incredulously to the red-eyed, sneezing Fat Lady in the pink dress.  
  
"Oh, I'm just fine," said the Fat Lady irritably. "I just love exercising my acute allergies, and this allergic reaction to ferret fur really does the trick!"  
  
"Well, we know she's in there," said Harry to Ron, but still looking at the Fat Lady. "Balderdash."  
  
"Uh, aahh, waCHOO!" The Fat Lady sneezed open the portrait hole, and her sneeze echoed into the Common Room.  
  
Hermione was sitting on a chair in front of the fire, wiping white hairs off of the front of her robes.  
  
"Hermione, what did you do with Malfoy?" Ron asked.  
  
"Nothing! He's been a ferret the entire time, what do you expect me to-"  
  
"No, I mean where is he? Where did you put him?"  
  
Hermione's mouth widened into a sly grin. "Oh, I found a nice place where he could stay without anyone becoming too suspi-"  
  
"Oh, Harry, Ron, you're back!" squealed Ginny, who had just ran down the stairs from the girls' dormitory. "Look at my wonderful new pet! Isn't Lonnie the most precious thing you've ever seen?"  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared now at the fluffy thing in Ginny's arms. Oh, it was Malfoy all right, but strangely, instead of being a fluffy white ferret, he was now-  
  
"-a fluffy PINK ferret! Oh isn't he just the cutest? I named him Lonnie because that name is just so sweet." Ginny squeezed the ferret with a little too much enthusiasm; he looked panic-stricken and clawed at her.  
  
"Where did you get the pink color for Mal-ouch! I mean, Lonnie?" Said Ron, rubbing his side. Hermione had elbowed him hard in the ribs.  
  
Ginny lowered her head for them all to see the ribbon in her hair. It was pure white, the color Malfoy had been.  
  
"I used a switching spell. I switched the colors of Lonnie with the colors of my hair ribbon!" Said Ginny. "I'm going to keep Lonnie in my room! He will stay there to be there when I fall asleep, and when I wake up and change clothes every morning, and-what?"  
  
Ron was looking very red and angry. The thought of Draco Malfoy watching his little sister change every morning was too much to handle. Hermione was giggling, and Harry suddenly wished he could be a ferret in Cho's room every day.  
  
Malfoy, who had been sulking because of his pink color, perked up quite a bit after hearing this news. Ginny was a very popular third year student because of her long, pretty red hair, bubbly personality, and the fact that she looked much older than she really was.  
  
*Well, at least she's pretty*, thought Malfoy. *This whole thing sucks, but it may work out. *  
  
Malfoy then started to act much more like a cute and cuddly ferret, nuzzling into Ginny's bosom ( ! ) whenever she rubbed his furry pink belly. 


	4. In Which Everything Gets Turned UpsideDo...

Chapter 4: In which this story goes down an entirely new road.  
  
Over time, Draco Malfoy observed Ginny while she dressed, when she studied, when she talked to her friends. He watched her flirt most obviously with Harry, and because of this, Draco Malfoy began to feel a strong pang of jealousy.  
  
When Ginny was around her friends, she was so courteous! She let her friends hold him and made sure nobody was left out of a conversation or a study period.  
  
He especially grew to love watching her read. Her eyes became rapt and she looked as though she was unaware of her surroundings. She read now, sitting up on her bed with Malfoy the Enamored, Fluffy Pink Ferret next to her.  
  
A stray piece of straight, long, shiny red hair fell from behind her ear. She didn't seem to notice it, and Malfoy was glad because it looked so beautiful while it gently brushed her cheek as she turned each page.  
  
She smiled, obviously at something she had just read, but the smile made heat rise to Draco Malfoy's little ferret ears.  
  
Draco Malfoy the Content Ferret breathed deeply, or as deeply as his ferret lungs would allow. He breathed in her sweet smell; she smelled fresh, like spices or flowers.  
  
He was struck by an upsetting thought: *She will never truly love me, for I am just her pet.*  
  
This thought brought a cloud of misery over him.  
  
*Am I going to stay a ferret for the rest of my life?*  
  
The watery sunlight shone through the window, contrasting with Ginny's straight, lightly freckled nose. He inched toward her on his soft, light pink paws and crawled into her lap. She stroked his fur but never looked up from her book. Malfoy was used to her stroking his fur now. It no longer aroused his raging-teenager-oriented-hormones; instead, it gave him sound mind and slow movement. He also discovered that when she stroked his fur, his head would involuntarily move with her hand in order to be scratched behind the ears.  
  
His leg thumped the soft bedding, which startled him. Hmm. He didn't know ferrets thumped their legs when they were content. Also, Draco had discovered that many things seemed to startle ferrets, and he was more and more often struck with peculiar, random thought.  
  
At this moment, he was struck with another unusually absurd thought.  
  
*This ferret thing isn't so bad. I would like to stay a ferret a bit longer, and unleash my inner rodent *.  
  
This thought made him giddy, and he nervously washed his face with his paws. Ginny watched him run his tiny paws over his furry pink face. She chuckled at her adorable pet, and went back to her book.  
  
What was he thinking! He didn't want to be a ferret! If he stayed a pink rodent forever then Ginny-well, Ginny would view him the same way he viewed his eagle owl-a companion, a replacement for when friends were busy.  
  
It seemed like so long ago that he had once been human. How long had it been, a week? He only got to see Ginny in the morning, after meals and when she'd read in her bed after dinner. The time that he spent in this girls' dormitory went by very slowly while Ginny was at her classes.  
  
Draco Malfoy, pondering all of this in his furry pink ferret mind, was suddenly overcome with a wave of homesickness (he is suddenly overcome with a lot of things in this chapter). He did not miss his grand estate, nor his mother or father for they were cruel to him; he instead missed going to his classes, and hearing Crabbe and Goyle guffaw stupidly at every remark he made. He missed Slytherin, and, come to think of it, he missed passing Ginny in the hallways on the way to a class most of all.  
  
True, whenever he passed her he would utter some snide remark about her being poor, or say bitter things about that wretched Potter that she loved so much, but at least then she would notice him. Talk to him in a normal voice. Not this cooing, baby voice she used with him now.  
  
He had taken all of that for granted as a human, so maybe this ferret thing would turn around and smack him in the furry white nose, like a punishment. Maybe being a ferret would help him to become a better human.  
  
When he was a person, he didn't consider himself ugly. Decent, he thought. Perhaps good-looking, even. Many Slytherin girls were always in a swoon around him, and more than once he has heard girls from other houses whisper, "ooh, he is so *handsome*!" or "Is my hair messy? Do I look all right? Is he looking at me?" Especially that troll Pansy Parkinson, always preening herself and fluttering her eyelashes laden with black gunk whenever he passed.  
  
*I wonder if Ginny ever thought I was handsome*, he thought. 


	5. In Which Hogwarts Teachers Notice an Abs...

*thanx y'all for the reviews, it means so much to me! Hey, if Vanyaria Darkshadow gains custody over Severus Snape (i.e. her disclaimer)..I should fight my case and capture Draco Malfoy! Til next chapter!(*~MOOKA Beep  
  
In which Hogwarts teachers notice an absence.  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione trudged down the cold stone steps to double Potions class with the Slytherins. Harry and Ron went to their usual cauldron near the back of the room, and Hermione sat next to Neville. Professor Snape traipsed into the dungeon and stood behind his desk, taking roll by scowling around the room as he did every class. His eyes stopped at an empty chair next to Pansy Parkinson.  
  
"Where", Snape inquired, "Is Mr. Malfoy? He has been absent for quite a while now."  
  
Harry and Ron turned around in their seats to look at Hermione. She stared anxiously back at them, which obviously meant they should pretend they know nothing, and turn around not saying anything. Obviously.  
  
As if on cue, Professor Snape turned his cold black eyes on Harry. Harry stared back at him, mentally daring Professor Snape to inquire. Snape smiled a forced, twisted smile, and Harry knew that he, Ron, and Hermione could have mouthed Professor Snape's next words.  
  
"Mr. Potter. Mr. Weasley. Your previous work was incomplete, and left *much* to be desired. Detention in my classroom after dinner." Snape searched their faces, which were unconvincingly innocent. Ron sighed agitatedly. He fixed his gaze upon Hermione, who was absentmindedly running her finger around the rim of her empty cauldron.  
  
"Granger!" He barked, unnecessarily sharply. The abrupt query made her start, and she bumped her shin against the cauldron. She looked nervously at Professor Snape and rubbed her shin. "Might you know anything about Mr. Malfoy's peculiar disappearance?"  
  
"N-no sir, why would I know of Malfoy's whereabouts?" she said, looking politely puzzled. (By the by, people look silly when they are 'politely puzzled'; pursed lips, raised eyebrows, they-let's get back to the story, eh?)  
  
*Why did I ask that question? The mudblood wouldn't know where Malfoy is; he wouldn't associate with such slime*, Snape thought to himself.  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione quietly managed their potions, avoiding Professor Snape more than usual. When class was over, they bottled their potions, gathered their things and hurried out the door to lunch.  
  
"Hermione." Ron looked uneasily at her. "Does Ginny still have, um, 'Lonnie'? If anybody finds out it's our fault he's still a-oops, sorry-" Hermione glared sharply at him and put a finger to her lips. Ron lowered his voice. "If anybody finds out it's our fault he's still a pink ferret, even though it's your fault, Hermione, we will be in so much trouble." "I know, but what can we do?" Hermione said exasperatedly. Harry sat down at the long Gryffindor table and picked up his goblet of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Well," Harry started, helping himself to Yorkshire pudding, "I think we should talk to Ginny and see how she's doing. The subject of her ferret could just-"  
  
Oh, wait! Wait!" Ron said, spewing green peas everywhere. "I have a good idea. Why don't we meet up with my sister in the common room, see how she's doing and we could just casually bring up the subject of her ferret!"  
  
Harry looked at Ron, his open mouth filled with Yorkshire pudding. "Ron, I just said that! Man, whoever's narrating this sure is unoriginal." 


	6. Confusion Settles In

*I am indeed fighting my case for legal custody over Draco Malfoy, though quite unsuccessfully-perhaps I shall help V.D. in the quest for the cantankerous yet loved oily-haired one.*~MOOKA  
  
Confusion Settles In  
  
Lonnie aka Malfoy the furry pink ferret squirmed and squeaked playfully as Ginny tickled his furry pink ferret tummy and he tumbled and tripped over the sheets on her four-poster bed. As Malfoy became more accustomed to being a ferret, his thoughts were much more ferret-esque. His mind was becoming simpler and his thoughts turned more and more to washing his ferret face with his paws and impressing Ginny's peers with fantastic furry pink ferret abilities.  
  
His tiny, furry pink ferret mind did not comprehend love; he now felt the adoration that a pet shows for its kind owner. Since the only humans Malfoy usually saw was Ginny and her friends, he turned more and more to ferret- ism without completely forgetting his original species. His tiny, furry pink ferret mind also did not comprehend that he did not comprehend, so the story continued. (I didn't understand that statement.did you? If so, explain it to me in a review. I'm serious!)  
  
"Oh, Lonnie," Ginny sighed. Lonnie's ears perked up at the sound of his name, and he turned his tiny ferret eyes to Ginny. "It's so nice to have my very own pet to talk to-the first creature [other than Tom Riddole] who actually listens to me, and the only creature who will never give me advice or try to solve my problems." She scratched Lonnie's furry pink ears and he closed his eyes contentedly.  
  
"Lonnie, it seems that the boy I have loved for so long is gone from my life for good." Malfoy's/Lonnie's ears pricked up, the human portion of his brain hanging on to her every word.  
  
"I mean, I know I was never close friends with him, but he used to speak to me in the corridors or in the Great Hall," Ginny said dreamily, though her face showed frustration and confused loss.  
  
*Must Ginny always swoon over Harry, even when he's not around? * Thought Malfoy irritably.  
  
"Even though he's a year older than me and even though we don't talk much, I feel like we could have had something special. But recently, he hasn't been in the corridors or the Great Hall! And I haven't seen him jeer at the Gryffindors during Quidditch practices in ages."  
  
*Huh? * Malfoy thought.  
  
Ginny pulled a thin silver chain that hung 'round her neck out from beneath her robes. The pendant dangling from it appeared to be a tiny grayish padlock. She tapped it on each side with her wand, and muttered something to the keyhole. The padlock melted into a polished silver heart-shaped locket. Malfoy's ferret curiosity doubled with his human curiosity-couldn't she open that locket any faster?  
  
Ginny pressed, clicked the latch open and pried her fingernail into the crack to open the locket. She held the open locket open in her hand for a moment, staring avidly at the tiny portrait inside. She then let the chain swing freely, and it sparkled in the wispy light coming from her window. Malfoy caught a glimpse of the photo inside, and gave a tiny ferret gasp as Ginny held it still, up to his furry pink ferret face: a pale, blond boy with colorless cheeks and dense, gray-blue eyes scowled at him. The locket swung slowly around so the silver, reflective back faced him. A furry pink ferret stared back at him, a furry pink ferret with dense, round gray-blue eyes.  
  
~~*~~  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried past the sneezing fat lady up to the  
girls' dormitory. Ron pushed past Harry and Hermione up the stairs.  
  
"Ron!" Hermione screeched. "You know you can't go up first! Remember what happened last-time-" she was too late-the staircase caved into smooth stone and sent Ron toppling down into Hermione and Harry.  
  
"Ooh, sorry guys, I forgot. Are you okay?" Ron said, wincing and holding his tailbone.  
  
"Oh yes," Harry said in a muffled voice. "I just love having a shoelace in my eye."  
  
"Come on, we're fine!" Hermione said triumphantly, jumping up. She approached the door to the dormitory and walked up the stairs. Harry and Ron followed cautiously.  
  
Hermione knocked on the door to Ginny's dormitory.  
  
"Ginny? Ginny! It's me-oh, and Harry and Ron are here too. Can we come in? We want to talk to you!"  
~~*~~  
  
"Ginny-can we come in?"  
  
Ginny turned wildly around and stared at the door cautiously.  
  
"Uh-just a minute.I'll be ready in just a-minute-" She hurriedly closed her locket; it melted back into a small tarnished padlock. She tucked it under her robes and smoothed out the bedclothes. She walked swiftly to the door.  
  
~~*~~  
The door opened and Hermione, Ron and Harry walked in. Ginny's dormitory was very well kept; all of the beds were made, and her furry pink ferret lounged on her bed, looking a little spacey.  
  
"Hi Ginny," said Hermione, hugging her.  
  
"Alright, Ginny?" said Ron, mussing his little sisters' hair.  
  
"Can we sit down?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Sure, have a seat!" Ginny said, gesturing towards the tidy four-poster beds.  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione each sat on a bed facing Ginny. They looked uncertainly at each other; they hadn't really discussed how to break the news to Ginny about her furry pink friend.  
  
"Ginny, there's something we should probably tell you about, uh, Lonnie." Harry started.  
  
"Yeah, and frankly, I don't think you should have this specific ferret in your room, Ginny!" Ron said hotly. He was still seething over how Malfoy may have peeked at his sister.  
  
"What are you lot talking about? My ferret? There's nothing wrong with him-when Hermione gave Lonnie to me he was in good health-a little thin, but-"  
  
"That's not what he-"  
  
"I was more implying-"  
  
"Ginny, your ferret-" Hermione, Ron and Harry all interrupted Ginny at the same time, and then glared angrily at one another.  
  
"Well, Ginny, you know how your ferret was once a white ferret? Well-"  
  
"You see, Professor Moody caught Harry fighting with someone in the hall-"  
  
"Harry got really mad but Moody punished Mal-"  
  
"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Ginny screamed in an irritable manner. "I just want you to tell me what you came here to tell me without interrupting each other! Hermione, will you explain first?"  
  
Hermione sighed and shot daggers with her eyes at Harry and Ron.  
  
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "Here's what we came here to tell you."  
  
~~*~~ Oh my good golly gosh, I just love stopping, stories right at the climax!  
Keep reading, check up on me every so often, guys, and please READ AND  
REVIEW! I luv u all, hee hee! ( 


	7. Speechless and Shocked

*My new fascination is of Miho Obana, author of Kodocha. I have the super kawaii Akito Hayama tied up in my basement. He's confused, he doesn't know where he is, and he thinks I'm Sana! Life is good.*  
  
~~*~~  
  
Speechless and Shocked  
  
"Well, um.Ginny you're uh, you're ferret.uh. guys?" Hermione looked to Harry and Ron for help.  
  
"Ginny." Ron said seriously. "This is the truth about your ferret."  
  
~~*~~  
  
Ginny looked into the serious face of her brother, the hazel eyes that were near identical to her own. She had no idea what was coming next. Her ferret? Lonnie? Was there something special about him?  
  
Ron cleared his throat and began the tale. "Ginny, you see, Harry was fighting in the hallway with Draco Malfoy. You remember who he is? He's the Slytherin who-"  
  
"I know who he is," Ginny said. Her heart fluttered as she covered her grin by rubbing her nose.  
  
"Well, while Harry's back was turned, Malfoy shot a spell at him. It went over Harry's head, but Professor Moody saw it and got really mad," Hermione said anxiously.  
  
Harry shifted his weight, eyeing the furry pink ferret who seemed to be hanging on to their every word. "So anyways, Professor Moody did something that he probably shouldn't have done. He used transfiguration to turn Malfoy into-er.a ferret."  
  
~~*~~ Malfoy/Lonnie had been listening in on their conversation, but distracted himself by washing his face with his front paws. At Harry's statement, however, he bolted up. Did Harry just give away his secret?  
  
He sat up and scampered over to Ginny. He looked up at her with a cute but worried furry pink face. She stared blankly back at him, her mouth open in dazed astonishment.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Ginny? Are you all right?" their voices swam distantly in her head. She felt a hand nudge her shoulder, but she didn't respond.  
  
She stared, transfixed yet unseeing, at the furry pink ferret on the bed next to her. He was frantically washing his face and running around in circles, trying to get her to respond.  
  
She felt her silver locket swing cool against her collarbone. The thought of its contents jolted her back. She raked her fingernails over the bedclothes and clenched her fists hard, forming tiny half moons on her palm.  
  
"You all are nutty," Ginny said, grinning vaguely and shaking her head. "This is Lonnie, as in Lonnie my furry pink pet ferret who is not a person."  
  
Ron grasped his little sister's shoulders firmly. "Honestly, Ginny, we wouldn't lie to you. Professor Moody transfigured Malfoy into a ferret. He can't speak, but he understands what we say." She squirmed and pushed Ron away.  
  
".My furry pink ferret that is not a person! You're all nutty!" Ginny repeated.  
  
Hermione turned to her, looking a little agitated. "All right, look. I can prove to you that your ferret is not ordinary. And don't worry! It won't hurt Mal-Lonnie one bit."  
  
~~*~~ Malfoy watched in ferret fear as Hermione approached him. He scooted as far back into a corner as he could, but Hermione snatched him up by his furry pink tail and dumped him onto the flat surface of a closed trunk.  
  
Hermione leered in at him, looking very confident.  
  
"Malfoy, I know you can understand me, so just do what I say," Hermione bent closer to him and said in a whisper, "and I won't have to tell everyone that you were pink."  
  
Malfoy's furry pink face pinched up and he scowled at her.  
  
She scowled right back, staying focused.  
  
"Malfoy or Lonnie, whatever you want to call yourself, er.climb onto Ron's head and nibble his hair."  
  
"What!" Ron sputtered. "No-don't-let-him-AUGH!" Malfoy scampered atop of Ron and gnawed on his red locks.  
  
Malfoy sputtered, but scowled at Hermione.  
  
~~*~~  
Ginny stared in awe at her ferret, then turned to face Hermione. She shook her head.  
  
"So? What does that prove? I trained him and taught him lots of tricks. I could probably tell him to do anything, and he'd do it."  
  
Harry leaned over. "Hermione, do you by any chance know how to change him back?" He mumbled inaudibly to her.  
  
"Uh.I think I know it, shall I give it a try?" 


	8. Oh, the Pain of Being a Wizard!

*As much as I don't want to admit it to myself, Akito Hayama is a Japanese cartoon character. But he's a SEXY little cartoon character, otay? Well, fine. I'll just steal Orlando Bloom in all his god-like hotness.*  
  
/\/\/\*/\/\/\  
  
Oh, the pain of being a wizard!  
  
"Ginny, this ferret of yours is Draco Malfoy, and I'm going to try and prove it to you!" Hermione said huffily.  
  
Ginny held on to one post of her bed, swinging her legs and saying nothing. She was too bewildered to try and stop Hermione.  
  
"All right," Hermione said, pushing her frizzy locks away from her face and rolling up her sleeves. She took out her wand, aiming at the trembling, furry pink ferret that was still perched on the trunk. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut in concentration.  
  
/\/\/\*/\/\/\  
  
Malfoy's mind became suddenly numb, and in the moment before the flash of light hit him, his last furry pink thought was; "Now I won't be able to scratch that spot behind my ear with my hind leg!"  
  
*I'm sure this thought for a ferret would be a sad one indeed. *  
  
/\/\/\*/\/\/\  
  
Ron wasn't paying enough attention to have had a last thought before the jet of light hit Malfoy, Hermione was concentrating, Ginny was nervous, and Harry was still wishing he could be a ferret in Cho Chang's dormitory.  
  
That being completely beside the point and having been thrown into this story for no apparent reason, back to the actual plot we go!  
  
Hermione opened her eyes, her wand still pointing at the quivering lump beneath the robes strewn on the floor. The small, quivering lump began to grow rapidly. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny held their breaths. The lump began to move around, and the figure beneath ran out of the dormitory, completely concealed by the long black robes.  
  
Ginny stared at the stairs where the figure had escaped. She looked pale, confused and helpless. Her eyes became glassy with tears.  
  
/\/\/\*/\/\/\  
  
Draco Malfoy fled through the Gryffindor Common room and out of the portrait hole. He tore down the hallways and up and down stairs, into the boys' restroom. He splashed his face with water and stopped to stare at his reflection in the mirror, his mouth ajar. He touched one hand to his hair: it was still bright pink. He felt it. It was really quite soft and furry, rather enjoyable. What? No, no--it's pink! There is nothing enjoyable about pink hair when you were once the studliest student in the school, he told himself.  
  
Draco considered his options: hmm...he could go to Harry and Hermione for help and see if they knew what spell Ginny used on him. Or he could go to Ginny...his heart raced. He couldn't go to Ginny; he, Malfoy a.k.a. Lonnie the Pink and Furry, had abandoned his former-ferrety duties to her only minutes before. He couldn't go back quite yet. But in the meantime, what was he supposed to do about this hair?  
  
Well, I am pretty popular among MOST of the houses, Draco thought. (*Poor, deluded little pink-haired child. *) Maybe I could make this work for me. I could start a...a trend, perhaps? No, that's silly. But it sounds like fun! All right, it's settled, Draco decided to himself, face still dripping with soapy blue suds.  
  
/\/\/\*\/\/\/  
  
Ginny sat on her four-poster, weeping softly into her hands. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat opposite her, staring guiltily at the pink ferret fur on her robes.  
  
"All right," Ginny said weakly, lowering her hands from her face. "You lot better start from the beginning. Tell me everything about how Hermione came across...L-L-Lonnie!" Saying the name of her beloved ferret made her well up with tears once again. She turned away from them, uncomfortable and miserable.  
  
"But Ginny, we've already told you the story once-" Ron started. Harry and Hermione shot dagger-hard looks at him, and he shut up.  
  
"Oh, all right, once more," he mumbled. Harry nudged Hermione, indicating that she should tell the story.  
  
"Ginny, I'm sorry we let you get so attached to that ferret," she began uneasily. "We just needed a place to keep him; these two knuckleheads wanted to keep the joke on Malfoy for just a tick longer. We didn't know how much you wanted a pet of your own."  
  
"Oh, don't be sorry about that!" Ginny said, her face clearing a bit. "He was a really good companion, and I really thought I had a good pet. But it was still really mean of you to do that to me-why not play tricks like that on Neville? He already has a pet, and he would have known it was just a joke! It was mean, Hermione."  
  
"I'm sorry; we're all sorry, Ginny." Ron explained. "We'll make it up to you somehow. And...I hate to say this...but we're going to have to find Draco Malfoy and talk to him too-he's probably pretty confused, and we need to explain things to him, and," he said in more of an undertone indicated to himself, "we may need to threaten him not to let his daddy or Snape expel us from the school."  
  
"I think Ron's right," Harry added. "Malfoy may be able to apologize too, even though I guess it's not entirely his fault. But he did start it, that last month, calling Ron's mother names like-" Hermione kicked Harry hard and jerked her head towards the two spawn of Molly Weasley. Harry was doubled over in pain, however, and didn't notice. Hermione has astonishingly good aim, Harry thought. And dammit, that is a bad thing-oh, the pain of being a wizard!  
  
~ ~  
  
. .  
  
# # (just-ate-a-lemon face)  
  
*  
  
The next morning at breakfast when mail arrived, Harry received a letter written with haste: Potter: meet me in Flitwick's classroom during lunch. IMPORTANT. He noticed that Ron, Hermione and Ginny had received the same type of letter, and he turned to gawk at the Slytherin table. There amongst his two baffled looking cronies once again, was weasel-of-a-boy Draco "pink locks" Malfoy. Harry stifled his laughter, tapping Ron, and pointed towards the Slytherin table.  
  
"HAW!" Ron guffawed quite loudly. He quickly covered his mouth and went back to his bacon.  
  
"Hey 'er-my-nee," Ron said, his speech slurred by an overdose of bacon, "ah we go-ig do meet Maffoy uddher da twee at luchh?"  
  
"What?!" Hermione said, wiping Ron's spewed bacon off of the letter she was examining. "Oh, yes I suppose we should meet with Malfoy under the tree at lunch, don't talk with your mouth full, it's always empty by the time you've finished talking!" She indicated the bits of chewed bacon that now covered hers and Harry's food.  
  
"Ugh."  
  
\//\\/*/\\//\  
  
As soon as the class before lunch was over, Ginny zoomed out the door into the sunshine. She was hoping to get a minute alone under the tree before her meeting with Harry, Ron, Hermione...and Draco.  
  
Thinking about him made her dizzy now, knowing that he had lived in her dormitory for quite a while-no doubt he had seen her undress, change clothes, and-dare she say it-bewitch her bogies to fly about the room with the command of her wand! She shivered at the thought.  
  
She hurried on. As she neared the tree, she sped up and collided quite hard into somebody. They both went down; book bags flew, quills and ink were strewn around them. Ginny sat up, apologizing.  
  
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going-"  
  
She stopped, looked up. Those gray-blue eyes: uh-oh!  
  
/\\//\*\//\\/  
  
Malfoy looked up. Long red hair, freckles, plum-faced disposition at the moment...Ginny. Great.  
  
Draco had hurried out of class as soon as it ended, pushing people aside as they stared at his hair. His cheeks began to turn a shade of pink paler than his hair as the students he passed murmured and pointed.  
  
He had been trying to get to the willow early, to gather his thoughts and decide what he was going to say.  
  
He realized he had been staring dazedly at Ginny's mouth, which was currently moving. He averted his gaze.  
  
"-wasn't paying attention to where I was going-oh. I suppose you were going there too?"  
  
Draco felt his ears grow hot with embarrassment and shame. He looked down and could only nod his head, a lock of hair falling into his eyes. He pushed it back.  
  
Ginny, who hadn't noticed, now stared at his head in astonishment.  
  
"Was that from-my-"  
  
He handed her books back to her and picked up his own, heading under the tree. Ginny followed, looking rather cautious.  
  
__  
  
\+/  
  
Ron, Hermione and Harry hurried toward the tree, spotting Malfoy and Ginny already beneath it. Hermione unexpectedly threw out her arm, whacking Harry in the face.  
  
"Wait! Don't go over there yet. Let's let them talk about this first." Hermione picked up Harry's glasses, which had gone askew from her arm. "Sorry. Here, Harry."  
  
^^^^  
  
(@ @) a bird, by the way  
  
\ /  
  
\ /  
  
V  
  
"All right, so. Um. Wh-what did you want to talk about?" Ginny asked, though of course she knew the answer.  
  
Draco became very nervous. He had never felt this nervous around anybody before. Then again, this was his first time being in love with a poor-as-dirt redheaded beauty.  
  
"F-first of all, I wanted to know what spell you used to make me p-pink," he stammered under his breath.  
  
"Oh that? I used a Switching Spell," Ginny replied, looking surprised. She didn't think he would ask about his hair right off.  
  
Great. Just great, thought Draco. How am I going to find something with my natural hair color to switch it with?  
  
"Uh, well, okay, and also...I'm-I'm really...I mean, I wanted t-to say...about what happened...uh."  
  
Ginny could tell he was really stressing out over the apology, but she pretended she didn't know what he was trying to say; Ginny had to hear him say it, so she could forgive him and go back to admiring him from a distance.  
  
"-wanted to say...when I was a ferret, a lot of things happened, and you became really attached to me-I mean, as the ferret, 'cause you didn't know it was me...and I know it must have really hurt you when Granger had to tell you, but I wanted to say that I'm-I'm very sorry about all of this. Really."  
  
He did it! He had stammered his was through his first apology. Draco turned away and sighed deeply.  
  
"Th-thanks, Draco. I forgive you, and I wanted to say that I'm sorry, too." Ginny tried to hold back the tears that were stinging her eyes.  
  
"Sorry for what?" Draco said gruffly, the spiteful look lingering in his eyes.  
  
"I don't know, but I'm just, I'm really sorry!"  
  
The tears streaked her face and she bent forward, sobbing into her hands. Her locket, the tiny padlock on a necklace, came loose from its hiding place beneath her robes.  
  
Draco caught his breath, remembering the last time he had seen her open it. He remembered seeing the portrait inside, the pale boy with the grey-blue eyes: himself, Draco Malfoy. It swung as Ginny continued to weep and Draco caught the long silver chain between his fingers.  
  
Ginny looked up at him gazing intently at the lock and pulled the chain so it slipped from his fingers. She clutched it in her closed fist and stared uncertainly at Draco.  
  
"You showed it to me--you know, Lonnie--once before. I know what it is."  
  
/\/\/\*\/\/\/  
  
Draco didn't need to finish the sentence for Ginny to understand that he had known since his ferret days.  
  
"-inside the locket. It's...it's a picture of-me, isn't it?"  
  
Ginny looked down at the grass; she was so embarrassed. She was sure her face was probably turning some elaborate shade of red, orange, blue, indigo or violet. Or all three, like it had when Ron gave her a Blood Pop once as a joke.  
  
"I never even noticed you, Weasley. You always seemed to hate me as much as Granger and your brother and Potter. I thought you had the hots for Potter! At least, it always seemed like you did."  
  
"I'm so embarrassed," Ginny murmured.  
  
"When I was a ferret I started to understand you better; you're not just the little sister of some incredibly annoying brothers, and you're not just a kid who's as poor as dirt. The only thing I really liked...about being a ferret..."  
  
Draco stopped himself, growing embarrassed. He had never said how he felt in such a way before; he felt like he was talking a bit too much. But I have to tell her.  
  
"...about being a ferret was getting time to really know who you are and discovering what a great person you are. And-and being a ferret gave me time...time to think...and to realize...realize how much-I-"  
  
He was feeling very overwhelmed. His throat tightened, and he felt like he couldn't speak. He dropped his books and ran back to the castle, not looking back. 


	9. In which Mooka continues her story

Malfoy dropped his books and ran back to the castle as a few drops of rain pattered off the willow's branches.

Ginny clutched the locket tightly in her fist and let the rain fall heavily into her hair and over her and Malfoy's books. She gathered as many as she could carry and walked slowly, dazedly, into the castle. She did not notice Hermione, Ron, and Harry nabbing her forgotten bottles of ink and tiptoeing after her into the castle. Ron tried to follow, but Hermione grabbed the back of his cloak and threw him in the direction of the Great Hall, where the rest of Hogwarts was enjoying dinner.

Ginny's heart hammered and her face felt warm. She dropped her own books in front of the Fat Lady and rushed down the stairs with Malfoy's books in hand. Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own; they knew exactly where to go. She rounded a corner and her wet hair clung to her even wetter robes. She grew colder and her footsteps echoed on the stone floor of the dungeon. There.

Malfoy stood with his face to the stone wall beneath the very spot that he'd first become a ferret. He grabbed a fistful of pink hair in frustration, but soon opened his clenched fingers and smoothed his hair once more. Malfoy felt an unfamiliar lump in his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut and banged a fist against the cold wall. Suddenly, Draco Malfoy heard a clatter behind him that made him jump. He turned around. She looked small and unkempt, but her hazel eyes shone brightly, almost frighteningly green. Her robes hung heavily from her shoulders, and her normally ribbon-smooth hair was wavy and crimson from the rain. For the first time, Draco Malfoy noticed Ginny Weasley.

Draco's textbooks fell from her arms. She stood not twenty feet from him, his image swimming in her spilling-over eyes. He did not move. She slowly walked toward him, her green eyes fixed on his face. He looked like he wasn't breathing. She reached a hand out and ran her fingers through the side of his soft pink hair. Malfoy exhaled and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were clear blue and staring right into hers. Draco took Ginny by the shoulders and pulled her toward him. He brushed back her wet hair and with his hand behind her head, pulled her face to his and pressed his lips firmly against hers. They tensed, and then relaxed into the kiss he felt he'd been waiting forever for—though it felt a bit slimier than he'd imagined. He opened his eyes to see that tears were still streaming down her flushed cheeks. Ginny caressed the nape of his neck and tried to smile. She shook her head as her mouth twisted and her face fell into tears once more. She pulled away and turned from him in the direction of the Great Hall.

"Ginny, wait! What's—" She turned to face him, her mouth a pouting flower.

"Draco, we can't. Not here," Ginny's voice dropped to a shaky whisper that ricocheted off the dungeon walls like scalding steam escaping a tea kettle. "You know I can't, and you can't, either." She covered her mouth and turned the corner into the Great Hall. Malfoy found he could not move a muscle to go after her.


End file.
